Large wildfires have increased in the Mediterranean region due to socio-economic and land-use changes. The most immediate and concerning consequence of the wildfires is the loss of vegetation. However, there are few studies on the relationship between wildfire and vegetation recovery, especially on the complex relationship between species composition, burn severity and geo-environmental context. This…
Some efforts to preserve or rewild natural habitats are shifting harmful land use to other parts of the world – and this could drive an even steeper decline in the planet’s species, according to a team of conservation scientists and economists led by the University of Cambridge. Researchers from over a dozen institutions worldwide have…
As grasslands get abandoned, controlled burning is discussed as a labor-saving method of keeping forests at bay. A Kobe University research team found that this method results in higher biodiversity and a higher prevalence of endangered plant species in some grasslands compared to others, depending on what soils they grow on. Humans have been keeping…
A new study led by scientists in the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University provides the first comprehensive global estimates of the amount of water stored in Earth’s plants and the amount of time it takes for that water to flow through them. The information is a missing piece of the puzzle…
Computer models developed by the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory predict that hotter, drier conditions in North America will limit the growth of a fungus that normally curbs the spread of the spongy moth, an invasive species that has caused millions of dollars in damage to forests. The research, published in Nature Climate…
A review of 47,282 tree species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that more than one third are at risk of extinction CLIMATEWIRE | More than a third of the world’s tree species are at risk of extinction, according to findings by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The group said…